A few days ago, I had an interesting conversation with a dear client. She had met someone that is a really great guy. Or so it seemed, from just having a couple of outings with him. Very polite, very attentive to her needs. Great conversationalist, take charge kinda guy, not putting all decision making on her. She really liked him. But, here's the kicker. After their second date, she decides he and she are not a good match, because he's too "religious". He talks about the Bible a bit too much, making her feel like he wants her to know how knowledgable he is, yet never trying to push his "religion" on her. She never felt judged, but she hadn't (at this point), talked much about her own lifestyle. Something about him just made her uncomfortable to continue the relationship. She was put off. A red flag went up in her thinking. I knew why.
It is such a common conversation inside my salon. Most times when anyone speaks about a Christian, it's always in the terms of a very "religious" person. You, too, must have witnessed the automatic withdrawal from religion at some point in your life, if you are a Christ follower. It's as if it is a plague to run from, as an almost visible slab of concrete instantly forms a barrier to all sound coming from the perceived "religious" person.
Why is that? Because "religious" people crush people with unbearable demands and never lift a finger to ease any burden. Everything they do is for show. Read about it in Matthew 23 (NLT)
Now...can you see why religion comes off as a dirty word? It's troubling to me that Christians sometimes have a reputation for being divisive and exclusive. Though we live among others who may not share our beliefs and values, we have the clear example of Jesus, who found acceptance among physical and moral outcasts as well as despised minorities and Roman officers. Somehow he moved compliantly among diverse groups without compromising his good-news message of love and forgiveness.
I've been reading a book about the human body and all it is made up of. What a great, insightful book! Let me give you an example of the human body as it creates an example of the spiritual body. Did you know the hand has the ability to mold itself around an object it grasps? I'd be willing to bet you never, ever considered this. Underneath the skin of the hand is globules of fat with the look and consistency of tapioca pudding. So soft as to be almost fluid, fat globules cannot hold their own shape, and so they are surrounded by interwoven fibrils of collagen, like balloons caught in a rope net. The hands receive a lot of stress, but because of being tightly sheathed by fibrous tissue (much like fine Belgian lace), they will mold themselves around the stress causing points. The clusters of fat cells change their shape in response to the pressure. The fat yields, yet cannot be pushed aside because of the firm collagen fibers around it. The tissue constantly shifts, and becomes compliant, as it fits the shape of whatever is causing it stress. Whether the shape is hard, or soft, the fat and collagen redistribute themselves and assume a shape to comply with the object being grasped, preventing localized spots of high pressure. The hand doesn't demand the object to conform to the shape of the hand; the hand adapts, distributing the pressure. (Information from Fearlessly and Wonderfully Made). Don't you find that simply amazing?!
How does this relate to Christian living? Glad you asked! Just as our human hand complies to whatever it is holding, awkward or smooth, so should I not demand others to realign their ways to mine. I should be willing to step into their world and see as they see, without compromising my own beliefs. Just as Jesus did. People often misquote the Holy Scriptures. Yes, Jesus sat with the sinners, yet he was without sin. Acceptance of all. Disgraced by none.
One last thought:
The apostle Paul says, in I Corinthians 9, as paraphrased in The Message: "Even though I am free of the demands and expectations of everyone, I have voluntarily become a servant to any and all in order to reach a wide range of people; religious, nonreligious, meticulous moralists, loose-living immoralists, the defeated, the demoralized -- whoever. I didn't take on their way of life. I kept my bearings in Christ -- but I entered their world and tried to experience things from their point of view."
If you seek, you will find me...here, in Mary's World
P.S. Find all my ramblings & musings; sometimes serious, sometimes hilarious by searching for www.marysworldmiami.blogspot.com
